New Delhi: Former Telangana Minister Etela Rajender, who resigned as an MLA on June 12, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in the presence of BJP National President Jagat Prakash Nadda at party headquarters here on Monday.
Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and G Kishan Reddy were also present.
Addressing press conference on the occasion, Union Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan said, Shri Etala ji is a very important figure in the southern political sphere. In the next Assembly elections, the BJP will emerge victorious and form the government in the state.
Welcoming Etala to the party, BJP general secretary Tarun Chugh said, “Shri Etala ji is a very eminent face in Telangana. He was a founding member of TRS. We gladly welcome him and the other leaders into our party.”
Along with Shri Etala Rajender, a group of other senior leaders also joined the Bharatiya Janata Party. The list of leaders included Shri Enugu Ravinder Reddy, Ms.Tula Uma, Shri Ramesh Rathod, Shri Aswathama Reddy, Shri Ande Babaih, Ms. Gandra Nalini, Shri S. Keshav Reddy, Shri A. Chandrasekhar, among others.
Earlier on June 4, Rajender on June 4 had said, “I have resigned from the TRS party and will submit my resignation as Huzurnagar MLA to the Speaker of Telangana Assembly soon.”
Rajender had stated that there were differences between him and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao which have been going on for the last 5 years. “I have been insulted on several occasions. I am a leader in Telangana and not a slave to the TRS Party.”
Denying all the allegations against him regarding the land grabbing case, the former minister had demanded a proper Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe and if found guilty, then any action can be taken against him.
On May 2, Etela Rajender was sacked from the state Council of Ministers following allegations of land encroachments. This was done on the advice of Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, who had ordered a probe against Rajender over the allegations of land grabbing and had taken the charge of the health ministry.
